TOMLINSON BRINGS PASSION TO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S POSITION

Teresa Tomlinson was set up --- and gladly so.

About two months ago, the search committee looking for the inaugural
executive director of MidTown Inc. asked the Columbus lawyer to meet about
the commercial property she owns at 1236 Wildwood Ave. Tomlinson figured
the committee members wanted to use the vacant historic building as the
budding non-profit organization's headquarters.

They did. But they also wanted her to be the executive director.

"I was shocked," Tomlinson said Monday. "But I was like, 'Wow. Wouldn't
that be great if that was actually possible.' ''

So after working out the logistics with her firm, Pope, McGlamry, Morrison &
Norwood LLP, Tomlinson agreed to start Jan. 15 a six-month transition period,
finishing current cases with her firm and working at MidTown part-time. Then
for a year, starting July 1, she will be on sabbatical from the firm and work
full-time as MidTown's executive director and help MidTown find her
replacement.

"I just feel like the firm is where I made my obligation, so to leave permanently
would be a setback," she said.

The three-person search committee comprised architect Ed Burdeshaw,
community volunteer Anne King and attorney John Sheftall. Burdeshaw said
someone outside the committee, whom he declined to name, mentioned
Tomlinson as a possible candidate. In fact, she became the only one.

"Once her name came up, there was nobody else the search committee wanted
to see in that job," Burdeshaw said. "We know she has the ability, the interest,
the drive and the passion for the project."

Midtown is defined as the six square miles bounded by I-185 to the east, the
railroad tracks south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the south, 10th
Avenue to the west, and Talbotton and Edgewood roads to the north.
MidTown Inc. wants to redevelop and revitalize the area through controlled
commercial and residential growth.

MidTown hasn't set an operating budget yet, but it raised about $300,000 to
fund primarily its master plan from Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates of
Atlanta. The preliminary plan unveiled in September called for an estimated
$16.83 million in capital costs over 20 years. Burdeshaw said "99 percent" of
the preliminary plan is in the final plan, with no significant changes.

Tomlinson won't take a salary from MidTown. She said she wants as much
money as possible to go toward MidTown's programs.

"It reduces the overhead, which is so important for a start-up organization," she
said. "It's so difficult for any executive director to raise money when a large
portion of that goes to their own salary."

Dream job

Burdeshaw reminded Tomlinson that, about a year ago, she wished aloud that
she could work on MidTown for a living.

"I was joking," Tomlinson said with a laugh. "I wasn't looking for a career
change."

When given the chance, however, she couldn't say no.

"I just want to be a part of something that's going to be so great and make such
a difference," Tomlinson said. "When you start rebuilding neighborhoods and
communities with commercial nodes and in-fill spots, you are talking about
changing things for at least decades. It's such a huge economic resource that
isn't optimized yet.

"We have to build the credibility that this is not your average do-good project.
This is a serious organization that's going to make some serious changes.
Building consensus will be key, too, because people might be nervous when
they start seeing their community changing."

But she insists MidTown's plan will be successful. Here's why:

"First of all, we have a very distinctive culture in midtown," Tomlinson said.
"We have Aflac's international headquarters, a scrambled dog at Dinglewood,
the oldest elementary school in the state, and all the experts agree that we have
good bones, solid, stable neighborhoods. Some might not be as good as they
could be or used to be, but we take for granted how great they are. We have a
great network of roads that haven't been destroyed by over-industrialization,
and the mistakes that have been made are certainly reversible.

"We also have huge community buy-in, through the neighborhood associations
and what the experts call community champions, people and business owners
who just will never leave midtown and will insist that it prosper and grow. And
I think we'll be successful because we offer diversity --- economic diversity,
racial diversity, age diversity --- and that makes us exciting and interesting, not
suffering from the sameness of generic America. We are uniquely Columbus."

Priorities

Tomlinson listed the following priorities for MidTown Inc.:

> Establishing a diverse board of directors with business and community
interests.

> Form a MidTown Merchants Association to support and market businesses
in the area.

> Form additional neighborhood associations in midtown to share information
through a council of neighborhood representatives.

> Create a MidTown newsletter and Web site.

> Meet with Columbus Councilors Nathan Suber and Red McDaniel, whose
districts largely comprise MidTown, to ask for their support and assistance, as
well as other city and school board leaders.

> Finalize the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of MidTown and begin fundraising.